TODO(simon): hero dataset (AGENTS.md Section 6.1)
Roy Lab at McGill University
Mapping tumors. Modeling treatment. Matching therapies.
We study how melanoma and its immune microenvironment change across space and time. By connecting patient tissue, spatial biology, live experimental models, and clinical questions, we work to identify therapies that can overcome resistance.
Research
Questions we work on
Pillar 1: Mapping tumors
What creates immunotherapy resistance in rare melanomas?
Acral and mucosal melanomas respond poorly to immunotherapy compared with more common forms of melanoma. We use digital pathology, spatial multiomics, and cancer immunology to define the tumor states and cellular neighborhoods that support immune exclusion and treatment resistance.
Pillar 2: Modeling treatment over time
What can living tumor tissue reveal that a static measurement cannot?
Our organotypic precision-cut slice culture system keeps patient tumor tissue alive while preserving key features of its native architecture and immune microenvironment. Controlled drug perturbations and live imaging let us observe how tumor and immune cells respond over time, rather than relying only on a single snapshot.
Pillar 3: Matching therapies
Which therapies can overcome resistance?
We test immunotherapies, antibody-drug conjugates, and rational drug combinations in patient-derived tissue and complementary mouse models. We connect functional responses with spatial and molecular measurements to develop biomarkers, prioritize therapeutic strategies, and inform precision oncology and early-phase clinical investigation.
Our work begins with clinical problems and returns to them. Patient samples guide our biological questions, experimental models test mechanisms and therapies, and findings are interpreted with a pathologist’s view of disease.
Featured paper
TODO(simon): featured paper
Latest
TODO(simon): up to six recent items (grants, papers, preprints, new members)
Join us
The Roy Lab trains computational and experimental scientists who want to work across melanoma biology, pathology, immunology, imaging, and precision oncology. Trainees can build projects around spatial data, machine learning, live tissue models, therapeutic development, or combinations of these approaches.